Handling devices for slide fastener components



Feb. 11, 1958 L. SCHWARTZ 2,

HANDLING DEVICES FOR sum: FASTENER COMPONENTS Filed Sept. 23.1954 5 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR LAWRENCE SCHWARTZ HIS ATTORNEY$ Feb. 11, 1958 L. SCHWARTZ 2,822,770

HANDLING DEVICES FOR SLIDE FASTENER COMPONENTS Filed Sept. 23. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4.

IN VENTOR LAWRENCE SCHWARTZ m... BY

HIS ATTORNEYS Feb. 11, 1958 L. SCHWARTZ 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 23. 1954 INVENTOR LAWRENCE SCHWARTZ HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent HANDLING DEVICES FOR SLIDE FASTENER COMPONENTS Lawrence Schwartz, New York, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Cue Fastener, Inc., a corporation of New York Application September 23, 1954, Serial No; 457,890

12 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) This invention relates to the manufacture of slide fasteners and it relates more particularly to an improved mechanism for supplying coii type fastener elements to a sewing machine or the like where the fastener elements are secured to tapes, fabrics and the like to form the completed fastener.

It has been proposed heretofore to manufacture coil type slide fasteners in which the fastener elements consist of continuous coii-like elements formed of metallic wires or strips or filaments of resilient plastics, such as nylon and the like, by sewing the coils to the edge or edge zone of tapes or fabrics which are to be joined by the fastener elements. While it would appear to be a simple operation to sew the coils to the tapes, in actual practice, the operation is a most difiicult one to control. The tapes or other pieces of fabric to which the coils are to be attached are stretchable and shrinkable so that they must be supplied to the sewing machines under a uniform tension in order to have the two halves of a finished fastener equal in length. Inasmuch as the coils are naturally resilient, they must be fed at a constant rate to the sewing machine so that the stitches pass through each convolution of the coil and the convolutions are maintained in equally spaced relation throughout the length of the fastener. The problem of maintaining equal tensions and equal feed rates has been very difficult to solve and, in fact, heretofore, it has not been possible to produce consistently good results and consistently good coil type fasteners with the equipment available.

It would be highly desirable, in addition to providing a feasible and practical method of sewing fasteners to the tapes, to provide some means for continuously forming coils of predetermined lengths and sewing them to tapes with their ends in spaced relation so that it would be necessary only to cut the tapes at the gaps between the adjacent ends of the coils to provide fastener elements of predetermined lengths. The equipment available heretofore has not been satisfactory for this purpose and it has been necessary to sew the coils in continuous strips to the continuous tapes and then nick and remove sections of the coils, i. e., gap the coils, in order to produce the separate fastener elements. All attempts to provide intermittent feeding of the coil with continuous feeding of the tape have met with failure because of the difficulty of matching a continuous feed of the tape with an interrupted feed of the coil which are necessary for proper gapping of the fastener.

In accordance with the present invention, I have provided a mechanism by means of which the coils can be fed to the sewing machine and cut and their movement interrupted smoothly in such a manner that the tension and feed rates required for producing uniform spacing of the convolutions of the coils when secured to the tapes are maintained.

More particularly, the new apparatus involves a novel form of feed mechanism involving a clutch which can be operated to stop and drive the feed wheels of the mechanism Without shock despite tne large reduction ratio re- "ice quired between the rate of coil feed and sewing machine operation and without producing substantial variation in the linear contraction or expansion of the coil which would destroy the correct indexing of the convolutions of the coil.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a schematic perspective view illustrating an apparatus for feeding tapes and coil type fastening elements to a pair of sewing machines for securing the coils to the tapes;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the mechanism for tensioning the tapes to be supplied to the sewing machine;

Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation of another portion of the tensioning mechanism;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the feed mechanism for supplying coils to the sewing machine;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the feed mechanism; and

Fig. 6 is a view in section through the feed mechanism taken on line 66 of Fig. 4, and including a schematic showing of the electrical control circuit for the feed mechanism and the knife for severing the fastener coils.

The invention will be described with reference to the use in the preparation of coil type fasteners of the kind disclosed generally in my copending application Serial No. 346,380, filed April 2, 1953. In practicing the invention, two separate overedge sewing machines 10 and 11 may be used, one of which is a conventional righthand sewing machine, while the other is a left-hand sewing machine of the kind disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 396,414, filed December 7, 1953. As explained in application Serial No. 346,380, the coils 12 and 13 are connected by means of overedge stitching to the tapes 14 and 15, respectively, to form the opposing sections of a slide fastener. In order to provide properly meshing slide fastener sections, the convolutions of the coils must be secured in essentially equally spaced relation throughout the entire length of the coil. This can be accomplished by passing the stitches through each of the convolutions of the coils with the stitches being of equal length. Proper spacing of the convolutions can be obtained in the finished fastener only when the tapes Proper tension of the tapes 14 and 15 is accomplished with the mechanism shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. For example, the tape 15 is passed around the periphery of a drum 16 which isfixed to a supporting shaft 17 mounted rotatably in suitable bearing blocks 18 and 18a on the supporting table. The tape 15 passes under the tensioning rods 19 and 20 in back and in front of the drum and approximately in alignment with the lower edge of the drum. Preferably the surface of the drum 16 is slightly roughened so that it will engage the tape with substantial frictional force. At the right-hand end of the shaft 17 is another drum 21 which is also fixed to the shaft and which has a drag imparted to it by means of a band brake 22 which is secured at one end to the table, passes over the drum and carries a Weight 23 at its free end. A spring may be used instead of the weight 23 if desired. The band 22 resists rotation of the drums 21 and 16. The tape 15 is subjected to a uniform and constant tension as the sewing machine advances the tape.

The tape 14 may be tensioned in a similar manner by passing it over another drum 25 which is also fixed to the shaft 17. If desired, the drums 16 and 25 may be separate and each may be provided with a suitable ten sioning means such as thedrum 21 and brake band 22 shown in Fig. 1. causes the two tapes 14 and 15 to be advanced under constant tension conditions to the continuously operating sewing machines 10 and 11 so that they will be'equally stretched and upon release of tension, they will contract equally so that the two finished sides of the slide fastener will be of equal length.

While the drawings show tapes in the manufacture of the slide fasteners, it will be understood that wider bands of material may be supplied to the sewing machines, if d sired, and that the drums 16 and may be modified in width to accommodate such wider bands.

As initially formed, the coil fastening elements 12 and 13 are braided together and form a meshing element which can be separated into the two coil elements 12 and 13 merely by pulling them apart. The interwound coils 12 and 13 are delivered by the twisting or braiding machine to a tote box of the kind shown in Fig. l. The tote box 30 has a conical center portion 31 mounted on a cylindrical or drum-like shell 32 which is located in spaced relation to the cylindrical rim or flange 33 of the box. This form of box is advantageous in that the coil may be placed upon the cone and core 31 and 32 by the braidingmachine without twisting and imparting a set to it and it can be drawn olf endwise from the tote box in the same manner, i. e., without twisting or bending it. A standard 34 or other support is provided for the tote box 30 and the two twisted coils are fed out through an eye 35 on a spring arm 36 extending upwardly from the support 34 to a mechanism now to be described.

A separator 37 which consists of a pair of diverging flexible tubes joined into a generally Y-shaped formation receives the meshed coils 12 and 13 and separates them smoothly and delivers them to a feed and regulating device 40 of novel structure and utility. The feeding device 40 serves tosadvance the coils 12 and 13 at a rate synchronized with the operations of the sewing machines so that each stitch formed by the sewing machines is cast between the convolutions of the coils to thereby space them accurately along the edges of the tapes 14 and 15. Interruption of the feed of the coil is possible with the feeding device 40 without stretching or contracting the coils to enable them to be cut into desired lengths and secured in spaced apart relation along the length of the tapes. Such spacing of the coils forms gaps between the opposite ends of each severed section of the coil and the next adjacent sections of. the coilthereby to form a continuous series of individual slide fastener stringers of predetermined length. Continuous production of the gapped fastener elements is accomplished without-changing the spacing of the convolutions of the coils with'respect to the stitches of the sewing machine thereby assuring accurate spacing of the convolutions along the tapes by each sewing machine 10 and 11. The device 40, as

shown in Figs. 4, S and 6, includes a base plate 41 which may be secured to the table or the like on which sewing machines are mounted by means of bolts 42 or the like. A vertically extending flange 42a is fixed to the front edge of the plate 41. A pair of uprights 43 and 44 are fastened to the flange 42a and are joined at their upper ends by means of a cross piece 45 to form the frameof the device 40. Journalled near the lower end of the frame is a main drive shaft 46 which is connected to the sewing machine drive by means of a suitable coupling 47 so that the shaft 46 rotates in synchronism with the main drive of the A bevel gear 48 is fixed to the shaft 46 sewing machine. and meshes with a bevel gear-49 on a sleeve 50 which is rotatably mounted'oua shaft 51. An eye 52 on the lower end of the shaft 51 rotatably receives the shaft 46 to enable the shaft 51'to also rotate aroundtheaxis of the v shaft 46 in a plane perpendicular to it. Thebevel gear 49 is maintained in engagement with the gear48 by means of the sleeve 53 mounted on the shaft 46- and by engagement of the eye 52 with the face of the gear 48. Axial displace The above-described tension means.

vented bymeans of acollar 55 secured to the shaftSLatthe upper end of the sleeve 50. It will be seen that when the shaft 46 is rotated, the sleeve 50 will also be rotated regardless of its angular position with respect to the shaft 46.

A worm 56 forms a part of the sleeve 50 and is movable into and out of mesh with a worm gear 57 thatis pinned or otherwise fixed to a cross shaft 58 extending between the uprights 43 and 44 and carrying at its outer end feed sprockets 59 and 60 which-engage and advance the coils 12 and 13 of the fastener.

The outer end of the shaft 51 is guided accurately to assure proper engagement of the worm 56with;the worm gear 57 by means of a guide plate61 fixed to the cross member 45 of the-frame andhaving a downwardly inclined portion containing a slot 62 in which the outer end of the shaft 51 can move. A smaller final aligning plate 63 having an aligning notch 64 in one end is mounted on top of the guide plate 61 adjacent the inner end of theslot- 62. The shaft 51 is normally urged into the notch 64 in the aligning plate 63 by means of a coiled spring 65 connected between the shaft 51 and the cross bar 45. In this way, the worm 56 normally engages the worm gear 57 to drive the latter at a reduced speed as compared with the speed of the shaft 46 to eflect the necessary reductionbetween the speed of the sewing machines and the rate at which the coils must be fed to the sewing machines for proper positioning of the convolutions thereof by the stitches made by the sewing machines.

The worm, worm gear drive constitutes an essentially clashless and shock-free type of clutch. When the shaft 51 is moved counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 6, the worm 56 disengages from the worm gear 57 and rotation of the shaft 58 and the drive sprocket 59 stops immediately. Upon return movement of the worm 56 into mesh with the worm gear 57, a clashless mesh is obtained with immediate return of the shaft 58 to full operating speed without subjecting the mechanism to substantial shock, impact or heavy load. Meshing and unmeshing or the clutching and'unclutching of the gears 56, 57 can be accomplished by means of a solenoid motor which carries an armature 71 for cooperation with a coil 72, the armature 71 being connected to the shaft 51 by means of a link 73. Upon energization of the coil 72, the armature 71 will be moved to the left and the worm 56 will be rocked out of mesh with the worm gear 57. When the coil 72 is deenergized, the spring 65'moves'the worm 56 into mesh with the worm gear 57. The solenoid 70 may be mounted on the base plate 41 at the proper inclination-by means of a mounting bracket- 74 which is detachably connected-to the base plate 41 by means of suitable screws and keyhole slots or the like.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, the clutch mechanism may be used in conjunction with a cut-off mechanism 75 for cutting the coils 12 and 13 into sections of predetermined length. The cut-off device is used to enable the formation of a series of interconnected but separate fasteners by a continuous sewing operation. As illustrated, the cut-off mechanism 75 may include a lower shear blade 76 fixed to the frame or casing of the device 40 and an upper shear blade 77 'which may be operated by a solenoid 78 similar to the solenoid 70. When the solenoid 78 is energized, the blade 77 which is mounted on a lever 79 pivoted on the frame member 80 is forced downwardly int o shearing cooperation with the blade 76 thereby cutting the coil 12, as shown in Fig. 6. Movement of the lever 79 is produced by means of an armature 81 movable upwardly relative to the solenoid 78 when the latter is energized. Upwardmovement of the arma:

ture 81 is limited by means of a screw 82in an arm 83' engage so that the coil is held against movement while the portion of the coil which has passed beyond the cutter will continue to be drawn into the sewing machine and will be sewed to the continuously moving tape. When the solenoids 70 and 78 are deenergized, the blade 77 is retracted allowing the coil 12 to be advanced between the blades by the sprocket 60 which is again set into rotation by engagement of the worm 56 with the worm gear 57. Thus, the relation of the coils or convolutions of the coil fastener is not altered since there is no tendency to force the coil against the cutter or to withdraw or stretch the coil leaving the cutter. In this way, by suitably timing the intervals between operation of the cutoff 75 and also timing the interval that the clutch gears 56, 57 are engaged, it is possible to vary the length of the coil sections and the spaces between coil sections secured to each tape. Proper timing and spacing can be accomplished by any suitable adjustable commutator-type switch, for example, a motor driven monitor control 85 which has a switch 86 actuated intermittently thereby to energize and deenergize the clutch solenoid 70. By varying the timing of the monitor control, the length of the periods of engagement and disengagement of the clutch can be controlled accurately. If desired, the solenoids 70 and 78 may be energized simultaneously by connecting them in parallel but preferably a separate switch 87 is interposed in one line 88 between the solenoids 70 and 78. The switch 87 which may be of the microswitch type is closed by movement of the shaft 51 to clutch disengaged position and opened on return of the shaft to clutch engaging position.

The clutch mechanism described above enables the production of separate coil fasteners of substantially any desired length in a continuous operation thereby doing away with the tedious and time-consuming hand gapping and cutting of the coil type fasteners which were required heretofore. Moreover, the apparatus as a whole results in the production of fastener sections having coils of equal length and having the equally spaced convolutions which are required in satisfactory slide fasteners.

While the feeding device 40 is particularly suitable for use in the continuous production of slide fasteners, it will be understood that it may be used in other fields for feeding of other materials. Therefore, the feeding device is not limited to the production of slide fasteners only and the form of the invention described herein should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for making slide fasteners comprising a sewing machine, means for supplying a strip of material to said sewing machine under substantially uniform tension, feed means responsive to the operation of the sewing machine for supplying a string of fastening elements to said sewing machine to be sewed to said strip of material in timed relation to the motion of said strip, the last mentioned means including a clutch to interrupt the supply of said string to said sewing machine, means for cutting said string before it is sewed to said strip, and means for releasing said clutch and actuating said cutting means in timed relation to the operation of said sewing machine to supply sections of said string in endwise spaced relation to said sewing machine.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 in which said clutch comprises a worm gear, a worm movable into and out of mesh with said worm gear, electrically actuated means for moving said worm out of mesh with said worm gear, and means normally urging them into mesh.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including means responsive to disengagement of said clutch for actuating said cutting means.

4. An apparatus for supplying strips of fastening elements to a sewing machine to sew them to a strip of material comprising means for supporting a string of fastening elements, a feed wheel for withdrawing said 6 string from said supporting means and advancing it end wise, a cutting member positioned to sever said string upon actuation on the opposite side of said feed wheel from said supporting means, a worm gear connected with said feed wheel, a shaft movably mounted adjacent to said worm gear and movable toward and away from it substantially in the plane thereof, a worm on said shaft movable therewith into and out of engagement with said worm gear, means for driving said worm in timed relation to the operation of said sewing machine, electrically actuated means for moving said shaft toward and away from said worm gear to engage the worm with the worm gear and disengage them, respectively, and advance and stop said string, and means for actuating said cutting member to cut said string while said string is stopped.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4 in which said cutting member is mounted on a lever and the means for actuating the cutting member includes an armature on said lever and a solenoid coil cooperating with said armature to move said. cutting member to sever said string.

6. A clutch for interrupting the continuous feed of an article comprising a drive shaft, a driven shaft substantially parallel with said drive shaft, a worm gear fixed to said driven shaft, a worm interposed between and having its axis in a plane substantially perpendicular to said shafts, means supporting said worm for movement into and out of engagement with said worm gear, means connecting said Worm to said drive shaft for rotation thereby and means for moving said worm into and out of engagement with said worm gear to drive and stop said driven shaft, respectively.

7. The clutch set forth in claim 6 in which the means for moving said worm comprises an armature attached to the means supporting said worm, a solenoid for attracting said armature, and biasing means for urging said armature away from said solenoid.

8. The clutch set forth in claim 6 in which the means supporting said worm comprises a shaft pivotally connected at one end to said drive shaft and extending substantially at a right angle thereto, and the means connecting the worm to the drive shaft comprising gears fixed on said drive shaft and said worm and meshing with each other.

9. An apparatus for making slide fasteners comprising a pair of sewing machines, one for sewing a stringer of fastening elements to the left-hand edge portion of a piece of material, and the other for sewing a stringer of fastening elements to the right-hand edge portion of another piece of material, means for supplying said pieces of material under substantially uniform tension of said sewing machines, a receptacle for a pair of meshed stringers of fastening elements, means for separating the stringers, means for engaging the separated stringers and advancing them to the sewing machines synchronously and in timed relation to the motion of said strips, means for interrupting the operation of the engaging and advancing means, and cutting means interposed between the sewing machines and the engaging and advancing means to cut the stringers during interruption of the operation of the engaging and advancing means.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 9 in which said receptacle comprises a hollow cylindrical member having an open top and a conical core member centrally located therein for receiving coils of said stringers therearound.

ll. The apparatus set forth in claim 9 in which the means for separating the stringers comprises a member having a central channel for receiving the meshed stringers and diverging branches at one end for receiving and di recting the separated stringers to said engaging and advancing means.

12. The apparatus set forth in claim 9 in which the means for interrupting the operation of the engaging and 8 advancing..mgangcompriggs a clutch ancl convtmlmeans. 2,198,341 Lggat, Apn- 23, 1940 forpngagipg and disengaging said clutch at,predeterminedv 2,214,721} lvkn'ixlsky et.a l. .Mar., 3; 1942 intrvals." I 2,542,764 Gibbons Feb. 20, 1951 2,63 5,;479, Ubertini Apr. 21, 1953- References Cited in the file of this patent 5 2, 55, 34; o li k gfl, 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTS 67, 9= R hrlick et a1. Feb. 2, 1954 1,262,235 Murray Apr; 9, 19-18 

